Journalist says that 188 Republican and Christian leaders have accused of sexually abusing kids this year (so far)

While the far right falsely paint drag queens and other members of the LGBTQ community as 'groomers,' journalist Evan Hurst has identified 188 Christian and Republicans leaders who have been accused of child abuse this year (so far).

Editor's note - This post is not meant to generalize about Republicans or Christian leaders. However, let's be real here. While sites like Libs of TikTok and the rest of the far-right social media jackals have spent an excessively large amount of time painting drag queens, trans people, and the rest of the LGBTQ community as child groomers, children have been getting targeted and sexually abused. But by Republicans and Christian church leaders, i.e. the two groups who have echoed and amplified the lie that LGBTQ people are sexually grooming kids. It's a case of sad and extreme irony.

From Daniel Villareal of LGBTQNation

Anti-LGBTQ+ conservatives have long crowed about how queer adults, drag queens, and their allies have been “grooming” and “sexualizing” children for abuse. Notably, these concern-trolls ignore all the child abuse scandals regularly coming out of the Republican party and the Christian church. 

 But journalist Evan Hurst — managing editor of the catty and left-leaning political website, Wonkette — has been keeping an ongoing list of Christian and Republican leaders who have been caught, accused, sued, or convicted for abusing and/or exploiting kids. Hurst has identified 188 Christian and Republican leaders this year, so far, stating, “If MAGA is so upset about Epstein, they should hear about Baptists!” 

 Hurst’s lists — which can be viewed here, here, and here — all link to local reports of church and GOP leaders being accused of abusing kids. His most recent update, published on Halloween, featured 49 new names of accused child abusers and pedophiles. 

 In fact, Hurst is having such a hard time keeping up with updates that he has asked for donors and subscribers to aid in his continuing efforts. 

“Conservative Christian leaders are such prolific groomers and abusers of kids, the news is so full of these stories, they are published in such a rapid-fire manner, that if you let it go ANY MORE THAN A MONTH, then it will take you hours and hours and hours and days and weeks to compile an update,” Hurst wrote in his most recent update.

Feel free to read the full article and contribute to Evan's efforts.

Trans man 'reading Ben Shapiro to filth' is the video we didn't know we needed (but do)

Right-winger Ben Shapiro when a trans man breaks through his "debate me, dude" nonsense and breaks down his deceptions.

The following video took place last year during election season, which is probably why it didn't get the full attention it deserves. 

First a little background. 

One thing I find annoying about some conservatives is the "debate me farce" they like to put on. That's when they go to college campuses purportedly to have "debates" with students, mostly liberals. They will have you to believe that it's a free exchange of ideas, when in reality they generally talk over the student, do a gish gallop, distract, misdirect and then later post a slanted view of the encounter online with some ridiculous title detailing how they "destroyed" said student. The narrative they push is how in a supposed free exchange of ideas, their conservative view is superior. It's basic bullshit which underscores the sad fact that a lot of times, debates aren't about facts, but about technique. 

The late Charlie Kirk was a master at this chicanery. Another conservative, Ben Shapiro, is on another level. However, in the following video, he met up against a trans man who frankly didn't have time the nonsense.

 Pink News from October 25, 2024:

Right-wing pundit and podcaster Ben Shapiro’s appearance on Jubilee’s Surrounded debate show didn’t go well for him. Each episode of the YouTube show Surrounded features a guest sitting in the middle of a circle with 25 people surrounding them. 

They all hold opposing views to that person – in this case Shapiro was confronted by individuals with broadly liberal and left-wing views. The circle members take turns to debate with the guest on specific points, but they can get stopped if more than half the circle hold up a red flag. Shapiro was confronted by a man called Shane, who asked the podcaster for his views on abortion and trans rights. 

 Shane told Shapiro that he was a trans who is adversely affected by abortion rights because he has a vagina, to which the podcaster replied that he had “no interest in your genitalia”. 

 Shane said: “Clearly you are. It’s kind of an obsession you guys have. In most of the content you have, you attack my community constantly and you don’t even realise that guys like me exist, who share a lot of similarities to you.” 

 That's the prelude. The entire encounter is below and Shane, as they said in my LGBTQ community, left no crumbs:

BOOM 💥 This is 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/SenLvskwCP

— Meidas_Charise Lee (@charise_lee) November 2, 2025

Afterwards, Shapiro's supporters made all sorts excuses for him. "Shane wouldn't let him get a word in edgewise." "Shane talked too quickly." etc etc.

That's not the point. The point is Shapiro and those like him play a rigged game, which unfortunately many of us take part in. We let them set the narrative, make the rules, then hope that we can "win" after we've given them all of the advantages. We simply have to stop that.

A more important point is how Shane spoke his mind. That's needed so much from all of us, including the trans community. It is my belief that a lot of the transphobia and attacks on the trans community (legislative and otherwise) lately is because there has been a deliberate attempt (even by some in the LGB community) to omit trans voices while elevating anti-trans voices. This has been happening in articles, on news programs, on social media, and so many other places.

It's bad enough when trans people are being dehumanized, but it's even worse things are being so rigged so much so that they can't adequately fight. That's why we should all take the lesson Shane gave us in his encounter with Shapiro. 

Be aggressive in telling your story and defending your worth. Don't apologize for refusing to let someone shut you up.  In the long run, it's not about defeating people like Shapiro in some silly debate. It's about defending yourself, your humanity, and your worth. And above all, telling YOUR story the way you want to tell it instead of allowing others (particularly those who have no interest in your safety or health) to tell it.

Nancy Mace's backtrack on gay marriage support proves that she is a political opportunist with the integrity of a dead slug

How it went:

Nancy Mace in 2021:

 In an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner, Mace explained that while she’s voting against the Equality Act, she will be co-sponsoring a Republican alternative bill dubbed the "Fairness for All Act." "I strongly support LGBTQ rights and equality," Mace told me. 

"No one should be discriminated against." "It isn’t a black-and-white issue," Mace continued, "I do believe that religious liberty, the First Amendment, gay rights, and transgender equality can all coexist. I’m also a constitutionalist, and we have to ensure anti-discrimination laws don’t violate First Amendment rights or religious freedom." 

 The congresswoman’s life experiences have shaped her refreshingly clear-eyed views on this issue. "I have friends and family that identify as LGBTQ," she explained. "Understanding how they feel and how they’ve been treated is important. Having been around gay, lesbian, and transgender people has informed my opinion over my lifetime."

Nancy Mace in 2022:

 

Nancy Mace in 2024:

How it's going now:

Nancy Mace in 2025:

Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.

— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) October 28, 2025

Nancy Mace was a friend of the LGBTQ community until it was no longer political expedient. Her political hypocrisy is so blatant that it leaves an odor.

Educators are suing after being fired for comments about Charlie Kirk. And some are winning.

Educators and school officials fired for making remarks about Charlie Kirk after his death are fighting back with lawsuits.

Educators and school officials across the nation who were fired for comments about Charlie Kirk's death are firing back with lawsuits and these folks aren't fooling around. The lawsuits claim that their First Amendment rights were violated and they may have a point. Not only are some winning but they also reveal the hypocrisy of the right as it pertains to free speech. 

I'm going to highlight some cases:

Judge rules in favor of teacher facing dismissal for Charlie Kirk-related posts - The case of Melisa Crook, a teacher in Iowa who was fired, highlights two things - 1. How fast the right-wing ecosystem travels when it comes to setting the narrative. 2.The importance of "keeping receipts." 

Crook made the supposedly offensive comment, which really wasn't an ugly one, on her own time at home on her personal Facebook account. In her lawsuit, Crook showed that other school officials (the ones behind her dismissal) weren't as careful to keep their personal opinions away from school:

 As part of her lawsuit, Crook included a 43-page document displaying social media posts allegedly written by (Superintendent Deron) Stender over the past several years. The lawsuit also claims Stender and Gee, the school board president, have each “made at least one Facebook post or comment agreeing with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asserting that in Florida, individuals have the right to hit other people with their cars” — a reference to DeSantis saying people, if they feel threatened, could drive over protesters. 

 The exhibit suggests Stender has made and shared political posts on a Twitter account he also used for school purposes, including content supporting Trump and Republican Sen. Joni Ernst; content condemning the “liberal media”; comments about “riots in liberal cities”; a post about supporters of former President Joe Biden being “snowflakes”; and one comment stating, “if you don’t like America, leave with Bruce Springsteen and the other elites.” 

 Two separate posts attributed to Stender also called on Iowans to “vote for Ernst” and to “vote Ernst on November 3.” Crook’s lawsuit also references social media posts by (Don)Gee, the school board president, that include an immigration-related comment condemning what Gee called “bull — left-wing judges.” 

 And my favorite part about this is Libs of TikTok, which also played a part in Crook's dismissal, weeping and whining online. Any time this group is upset over something is a good thing.

What @libsoftiktok FAILED to mention was not only did Melisa Crook make the comment about Charlie Kirk on her own time, but in her lawsuit against the firing, she pointed out how the superintendent made pro-GOP comments over the years using a Twitter address designated for school… pic.twitter.com/4qchOJ4nQi

— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) October 25, 2025

Crook is not the only educator filing a lawsuit and winning. Last month, a federal judge reinstated a University of South Dakota tenured professor who was fired for calling Kirk a "Nazi."

And there are other lawsuits.

 In Georgia a teacher, Michelle Mickens, is suing her school district. Her lawsuit, like Crook's, accuses her school district of duplicity.

Georgia school district was sued Monday after it fired a veteran high school teacher because of her social media posts critical of recently assassinated politically conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Michelle Mickens, a former finalist for Georgia Teacher of the Year, posted a quote from Kirk on her personal, private Facebook account and made comments under the post on the danger of gun violence. 

The federal lawsuit, filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Georgia Association of Educators, claims the Oglethorpe County School System asked Mickens to remove her post, retract or apologize for the post, and/or stop using social media completely. However, the lawsuit claims, the district has no clear standards for employee social media use. Meanwhile, the lawsuit said the district allowed speech in school supporting Kirk, such as teachers participating in Kirk’s birthday celebrations on school campus by wearing t-shirts bearing texts and images in his memory.

 The district’s decision to place Mickens on indefinite paid suspension, pending termination of her employment, as a result of her private social media post critical of Kirk violates her First Amendment right to free speech and the 14th Amendment, which ensures due process, according to the complaint.

Other lawsuits include:

Former landscape supervisor sues Auburn University, says he was fired over Charlie Kirk post

Employee sues Ole Miss chancellor after being fired over Charlie Kirk post 

S.C. educator sues over her firing after Charlie Kirk post 

ACLU sues Ball State president over employee's Charlie Kirk post firing 

According to an October 1 article in The Huffington Post, free speech groups have been mobilizing to defend these lawsuits in court. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is one of these groups: 

 FIRE . . . sent letters to universities that had begun disciplinary procedures against teachers and lecturers for their speech about Kirk. One letter to the president of California State University-Fresno calls on the university to drop disciplinary proceedings into Barri Brennan, a lecturer, for telling a student after Kirk was shot, but before his death was announced, “You want to know what I think? It’s too bad he’s not dead.” 

 Another letter from FIRE to Florida Atlantic University warned the school to drop a disciplinary investigation into professor Karen Leader for posting online about Kirk’s political views without even mentioning his death.

Other free speech groups who are helping to defend these lawsuits are the American Civil Liberties Union in the Ball State University case and a Clemson case and South Poverty Law Center in the Michelle Mickens case in Georgia.

Charlie Kirk did not deserve to be murdered, but he was not a good person. He was a bigoted, racist sleazebag, so naturally his death garnered so many reactions. Some of the reactions were ones I didn't agree with, but I also didn't like the holier-than-thou attitude from the "f@ck your feelings" crowd as they engaged in witch hunts against those they felt didn't give Kirk enough deference.

But that's how they are. You can't blame trash for being trash. What bothers me is how quickly certain university officials who should have known better caved in to the shrieking hypocritical harpies of the right as they attempted to canonize Kirk at the expense of truth.

To these university officials, I have one thing to say - you deserve the price you may have to pay for refusing to defend your people.

Oops! Inaccurate birth certificate proves how anti-trans policies can harm student athletes

Some of us told folks that these anti-trans policies would have unintended consequences. 

From LGBTQNation: 

 In Arizona last week, a cisgender male 8th grader was “physically removed” from tryouts for his school’s boys’ basketball team because an error on his original birth certificate incorrectly identified him as being born female. It’s the latest episode in a “gender ideology”-inspired nightmare for the teenager, Laker Jackson, and his family. 

 . . . The Kafkaesque drama was inspired by a clerical mistake 14 years ago, when hospital staff mistakenly identified Becky Jackson’s newborn son as a girl. It was an error Laker’s parents never noticed. I give him the birth certificate and they’re like, ‘Did you know this says female?’” Becky Jackson recalled about handing over enrollment paperwork to a school administrator last year. “I was like, ‘What?’” Becky Jackson said. “I was like, ‘Oh man, that’s so funny.’ So we come home, everyone’s laughing.” The busy mom of six said correcting the document wasn’t a priority. 

 “So we just put it in the drawer and moved on,” she said. The mix-up didn’t cause issues until recently, she told AZ Family. Last spring, school staff began treating Jackson as female, Becky Jackson said. The district removed Laker Jackson from an all-boys gym class and mandated he use a separate restroom, despite the family’s assertion that their son is a cisgender boy, assigned male at birth. Becky’s mom had already started work on changing Laker Jackson’s birth certificate, but “it’s not something that you can fix quickly. You have to have an affidavit signed,” she said.

 In the meantime, the 14-year-old continued training to make the boys’ basketball team at his Mesa high school, a 7th to 12th-grade school in the Queen Creek Unified School District. Becky Jackson said she received the corrected birth certificate over the summer and provided the district with the revised document, along with a doctor’s note confirming Laker’s sex. 

 But Queen Creek administrators said it wasn’t enough, standing by a rule stating that the school’s determination of a student’s sex would rely solely on an original birth certificate. 

According to Jackson, this caused her son to be physically removed from basketball tryouts in front of his teammates. The article goes on to say:

 . . .The ordeal is a prime example of what activists have long warned: that anti-trans policies are bad for everyone. It’s also quite ironic, considering the very people who want to stop anyone assigned male at birth from playing on girls’ sports teams may wind up forcing a cisgender boy to do just that.

This situation is a perfect opportunity give a little critique of my LGBTQ community.

Our problem is we aren't petty enough. I don't mean petty to each other. We tend to be that way for days on end. What I am talking about is being petty to those who oppose our basic equality. The anti-LGBTQ industry has done so many ugly things to us - smearing our names, dehumanizing our families, and trying to gaslight us to death - that we've become desensitized to their actions.

Desensitization of those constantly endangering your safety and equality can be seen as a good coping mechanism designed to protect yourself from psychological harm, but it has its drawbacks. A major one is underappreciating the times when the actions of those attempting to steal your rights away either backfire or cause harm to members of the general public.

I've been blogging for over 19 years, so I've witnessed anti-LGBTQ activists, and religious right groups make a large amount of embarrassing public mistakes due to their stridency. But generally, they are able to pick themselves up and continue as if nothing happened. This is in part due to how blase we are when it comes to capitalizing on these mishaps. Regarding the case above, what our community will most likely do is to laugh or make interesting conversation about said incident, but only in OUR circles.

But it's a major situation which directly outlines what many of us have been saying about the foolishness of anti-trans policies - that the problems they are supposed to handle are pretty much nonexistent, but the unintended consequences of enacting them can do a lot of damage.

It's a great situation for us to be petty.  When bigots make mistakes or cause negative unintended consequences, we should be rubbing their faces in these mishaps publicly and often.  We've desensitized ourselves so much that we've allowed the opposition to dictate the rules and arguments. When they make mistakes - and they make a lot of mistakes - we don't capitalize on these mistakes to shift the narrative. It seems that we are too busy trying to avoid the fight instead of diving in while exploiting their mistake as an advantage.

Yes, it's being petty and some folks may claim that such things are beneath us. But damn that. This isn't a gymnastic competition. We aren't being judged on points. Just overall success.

'Federal judge to block Trump from erasing trans people from states' sex education curriculum' & other Mon/Tues news briefs

Federal Judge Rules In Favor Of Public Schools In 16 States That Refused To Comply With Trump's Trans Ban - Basically, the Trump Administration was demanding that schools block any mentions of trans people in their sexual health education curriculum if they wanted federal monies. U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken said "no you don't." 

US judge to block Trump directive to cut 'gender ideology' from states' sex ed materials - Specific details about the case. 

Trump nominee says MLK Jr. holiday belongs in ‘hell’ and that he has ‘Nazi streak,’ according to texts - Look at that. Another Trump Republican, this time Paul Ingrassia, his nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel is discovered to be racist. Love this comment of his - "Using an Italian slur for Black people, Ingrassia wrote a month earlier in the group chat seen by POLITICO: “No moulignon holidays … From kwanza [sic] to mlk jr day to black history month to Juneteenth,” then added: “Every single one needs to be eviscerated.”' 

Trump erased trans & queer history from Stonewall. Lawmakers are fighting to get it back - They had better! 

I lost a speaking gig for writing about Charlie Kirk. Meanwhile, Trump demeans Americans every day. - I don't think you sue in this situation, but from what I hear a lot of other folks who were fired because of Charlie Kirk statements are getting their jobs backs or suing. And those lawsuits have grounds. 

Anti-LGBTQ laws were never about "protecting children" - Yep. They never were.

'No Kings' rally/protest in Columbia, SC sends a powerful message of defiance to Trump and Republican Party

 Americans in cities all over the nation came out to represent during the No Kings rallies. My city of Columbia, SC was no different. Though I did not stay as long as I would have liked to (It was hot and I'm old. Sue me already), we had quite a number at the State House downtown. It was very empowering but folks, please keep that energy when we get to the midterm elections next year. "Batman" may have shown up at the rally, but when it comes to Trump and where our government is at the present moment, only we can save ourselves.